suppresSTEM participant Hubrecht Institute/HUB

HUB foundation for Organoid technology

About The Hubrecht institute/ The HUB foundation for Organoid technology

The HUB is founded on the pioneering work of Prof. Dr. Hans Clevers (Hubrecht Institute) who discovered methods to grow stem cell-derived human epithelial ‘mini-organs’ (organoids) from tissues of patients with various diseases including cancer and cystic fibrosis. In cell culture, organoids stably maintain the genotype/phenotype of the patient’s diseased tissue, thereby representing an in vitro platform for preclinical drug discovery and validation and a tool for precision medicine.

The Living Biobank

The Living Biobank consists of a rapidly growing collection of organoids from patients with various forms of cancer (colon, prostrate, lung, pancreas) and cystic fibrosis. The organoids are characterized by genome sequencing, expression profiling and sensitivity to known drugs to establish a database linking genetic and transcriptional information to drug responsiveness. Using the Living Biobank, the Hubrecht institute/HUB explores novel therapeutic strategies, including responsiveness to drug combinations, to develop rules for patient stratification based on drug sensitivity in vitro. Connecting genomic heterogeneity and gene function to in vitro drug responsiveness will lead to the development of a road map for improved treatment strategies.

The Hubrecht institute/HUB’s role within suppresSTEM

The Hubrecht institute/HUB generates a living biobank of human diseases. The patient samples in this biobank represent the affected organ of the patient in a culture dish. The suppresSTEM project aims at identifying antibodies out of a large library of antibodies that have a therapeutic effect on colon cancer. The Hubrecht institute/HUB is responsible for generating and characterizing this biobank of organoid samples. Furthermore, the Hubrecht institute/HUB will generate material for the antibody screen performed in collaboration with OcellO. The Hubrecht institute/HUB will also coordinate the development of the assays that are performed.